Street Solar Panels

Well the first reason you wouldnt see any power, might be because there is nothing there for the solar panel to store what it makes, "Batteries" Then you get into a lot of other things, like the amount of power it is making, does the solar panel go to a DC to AC Power Inverter. It must then be regulated in how much Volts it is letting through the Power Inverter, So If you we're to grab those panels, you would still need to know what to do with the power it is making, Ive found that an easy method is using some of those battery backups that allow you to close your computer and such already has most of the components in them, to make a very usable power inverter, cant exactly show you how, because most are different, but will work Good luck. I think this storm might actually wake some people up, that the power is not a guarantee, and must be looked at with respect, If you want power all the time Make it yourself.

reply to post by Glassbender777


Thank for that information, honestly all these is new for me and you are right about the "wake up" effect of the storm in people like me. I also see how important is to have a good inverter. Guess what...I just found one, was the last one on the shelve, seems right to me. What do you think ?



Output :
400 watt. AC
120VAC 60Hz.
Input :
12V DC
Fuse :
40 AMP

I am in the process of purchasing my own little solar power set up.

I'm getting this 45 watt solar power kit for about $140.



www.harborfreight.com...

Then this 2000 watt power inverter and a couple of 12v,90 amp deep cycle batteries.

Here is a calculator for figuring out how much wattage electrical devices use.

www.consumerreports.org...

usehold appliance Wattage
Air conditioner Central 5,000
Room 1,000
Clock radio 10
Coffeemaker 1,050
Clothes washer 425
Clothes dryer (electric) 3,400
Dishwasher 1,800
Dehumidifier 785
Electric blanket 80
Fans Ceiling 120
Window 150
Furnace 750
Whole house 500
Freezer (stand-alone) 600
Hair dryer 1,600
Heating 1,125
central, gas furnace 400
central, oil furnace 1500
electric, portable 1125
Clothes iron 1,400
Light bulb Incandescent 100
Compact fluorescent 25
Microwave oven 925
Personal computer CPU & Monitor 125
Laptop 25
Stereo 250
Range (electric) 4,500
Refrigerator 725
Sump pump 600
Television (color) 20-inch (LCD) 65
26-inch (LCD) 110
36- to 42-inch (Plasma) 250
50- to 60-inch (Plasma) 340
Toaster 1,100
Toaster oven 1,225
VCR/DVD 25
Vacuum cleaner 1,225
Water heater (electric, 40-gallon) 5,000
Well pump (deep well) 700

Get a "Kill-O-Watt" meter, thebn you'll know exatly how much you use.

reply to post by kdog1982


Great info Kdog, but the price is 189.99 ( plus t & s ?). Still seems to be a good set, only pay attention the panel is not weatherproof and need to be sealed.

Your inverter is way better than mine, I want to keep the one I already got in my car and will get a bigger according to the panel I'm planning to buy. I've seen good deals in radioshack online.

Look on eBay for a panel

If money is tight then start small like a ten Watt panel. You will need a charge controller for you batteries, so the panel does not overcharge the battery, it also kicks the power off in case your battery gets to low.

It really does not matter how big your inverter is, because the more power you use the faster your battery will run dead. If you have a limited budget then stay with your 400 Watt inverter. That is what I have.


Remember if you run your battery dead it will take days to really charge it with low wattage panels.

You always want to operate less power than you are charging, so you don't drain your battery.

It is not as easy as, get a 2000 Watt converter and run the fridge, microwave, and television. You will drain your power supply and be in the dark for days. You will only have about ten hours of charge time per day depending on the weather and time of the year. So a 2000 Watt converter is not the wisest move unless you have the charging and storage capacity to run it. Also it takes more power to run the 2000 Watt inverter even of you are running 20 Watts with it. The inverter will consume power by itself, the bigger the inverter more power consumption.

My setup is small. 40 Watts of solar to a 60 Watt charge controller to my. 92 amp hour battery to my 400 Watt inverter.

I can run an energy efficient. Light and a radio, and charge the phones, and CB.

You have to seriously monitor how much energy you are providing and using. Or it will be worthless.

With a small setup forget about the fridge, all large appliances, and anything not necessary.

Pay attention and it is worth it when you are the only one ob the block with a light and a radio. Not to mention you don't have a loud generator outside all night.

reply to post by liejunkie01


There is a lot to take in consideration about your post, thanks. I've been searching other alternatives and found some small devices that have a solar panel build in, like garden lights, flashlights, radios and also small phone rechargers. Very affordable and will help to reduce the amount of watts you need from your solar panel. Besides that, easy to carry if need to move....if you know what I mean.

Wrecking Yards car batteries and autoshops car batteries.
Possibility of supplies for making weapons.

A scrapper I know picked the whole mechanism for a 50 cal machine gun a few weeks ago at a local scrap yard. He finds guns all the time

I spend a lot of time in rahway nj, they are full of these solar panels. Did a little investigating on a few. There is infact a charge controller/inverter and a small battery mounted under them. They do appear to be connected to the light as well.

I honestly wonder if these have any relation to "shot spotter" systems. Fire a gun in rochester ny and see what happens the police will show up within ten feet of where it happened pretty quickly.

Originally posted by amraks
Wrecking Yards car batteries and autoshops car batteries.
Possibility of supplies for making weapons.

A weapon made of a battery ? I never heard that.

reply to post by phroziac


Well, got to tell you, I'm not 100% convinced the power collected goes back to the grid.

Originally posted by davjan4
Get a "Kill-O-Watt" meter, thebn you'll know exatly how much you use.

I 100% agree, I have one and highly recomend it to anyone doing something like this. For example, those lists of average useage can be WAY off, I have a large Kenmore chest freezer that I keep around 0 degrees F and when it runs it uses around 70-75 watts.

But the Consumer Reports list says:

Freezer (stand-alone) 600 watts

Keep in mind motors take more power to start than when they are running, but not 8x as much.

Originally posted by Trueman
reply to post by phroziac

 

Well, got to tell you, I'm not 100% convinced the power collected goes back to the grid.

I agree. But its neat that if shtf, its basically a one piece unit you can borrow and power crap with.

The shotspotters creep me the hell out though. Hit something hollow with a hammer and five cops show up!

reply to post by Trueman


flame throwers.

originally posted by: RocksFromSpace
It's powering surveillance equipment...

that would make sense since it didn't work to keep the light on.